Chinese New Year is around the corner and Reunion Dinner is definitely one of the most looking forward day of the season! With a table spread with dishes of delectable food and the aroma from these dishes wafted past your nose the moment you open the door!
Here are some dishes that I think is very suitable for reunion dinner and it’s quite easy to prepare.
Abundance & Prosperity Poon Choi (盆菜) with Heavenly Rich Broth
Poon Choi Aka Pen Cai (盆菜) is an Auspicious one-pot dish served in a very big pot (traditionally served in wooden and metal basin) during festive peiods, especially Chinese New Year.
Poon Choi (盆菜) is usually crowded with overflowing of ingredients to signify abundance of wealth and prospertity. The choice of ingredients to be added is endless. Usually includes Roast meat, dried mushroom, conpoy, prawns, abalone, fish maw, broccoli, yam, etc…
Recipe: https://goo.gl/KxMqwD
Easy Buddha Jump Over the Wall 佛跳墙
This is definitely restaurant quality and this sticky-lipped soup is so collagen-ful that when I store the leftover soup in the fridge, it just jelly-up.
I prefer to use pressure cooker to cook as it will be faster. However, I will use stove top to cook for bigger parties. So there will be 2 methods provided in this recipe
Crunchy, Juicy, Meaty Soup Dumpling 水饺
Perfect add on to our yearly must have hotpot during CNY! Guarantee crunchy, juicy and meaty soup dumpling.
Crunchy Nam Yu Sio Bak 南乳烧肉
This recipe is a savior to me – No tedious poking and easy to cut without having to worry that the ultra crunchy skin will fall off the meat. Moreover, it is soaked in brine for extreme juiciness! Sounds yummy already right
Recipe: https://goo.gl/s8CQ2b
Video Recipe: https://goo.gl/JSCs23
Grandma’s Hokkien Glutinous Rice 阿嬷的古早味福建油饭
This is a dish I always look forward to the first day of CNY where my Grandma will sure prepare first thing in the morning so that we get to eat when we go to her house to 百年 in the morning. It is a very traditional taste that I will never forget. Though she is no longer with us, I still continue the tradition and ensure that we will have this on the first day of CNY.
Recipe: https://goo.gl/2kK1j5
Hong Kong Style Char Siew
Char Siew (Chinese Barbeque Roast Pork) is a popular dish in Cantonese Cuisine, typically sweet, sticky and red (due to red food colouring). It’s a dish that is always well-received by everyone from kids and adults to our old folks.
To achieve this plate of glistering, sticky, perfectly caramelized Char Siew is as easy as ABC – it took less than 15 mins to prep, at least 2 hours or overnight marination and 15 mins to roast!
Recipe: https://goo.gl/Dk3inf
Video Recipe: https://goo.gl/vcGBY7
Crispy Air fry Nan Ru (Fermented Beancurd) Fried Wings 南如炸鸡翅
Crispy Air fry Nan Ru (Fermented Beancurd) Fried Wings 南如炸鸡翅 uses red fermented beancurd as the main ingredients to marinate the wings for a ultra flavorful umami-rich chicken wings. And this recipe uses Air Fryer for a healthier, less oily chickens wings.
Recipe: https://goo.gl/kyVKBh
Marinated Herbal Drunken Prawns (花雕当归醉虾)
The prawns are cooked and marinated in a bowl of herbal brine made with Hua Diao Wine, wolfberries, Dang Gui (angelica roots), rock sugar and some fish sauce.
It’s so simple yet the taste is beyond simplicity. The sweetness of the succulent fresh prawn that soaked up the aromatic herbal sauce from the overnight marination. Together with the fragrance of Hua Diao Wine.. omg.. it’s just heavenly.
Recipe: https://goo.gl/eblcA1
Succulent Herbal Baked Chicken 当归麻油酒鸡
Definitely a dish that will win a lot of “WOW”! I tried and never ever failed.
This chicken is baked with a few simple ingredients – Oyster sauce, Chinese Shao Xing Wine (Hua Tiao), Sesame oil, Angelica Roots (当归) and wolfberries. You can leave the angelica root out if you really don’t like the herbal taste. Actually the herbal taste is very subtle. Even my baby nephew keep asking for more of the sauce and the chicken.
You can bake it with whole chicken or chicken parts. Remember to have a bit pot of rice if you are making this dish
Recipe: https://goo.gl/a3lTAL
Thai-Style Braised Fish Maw (Shark Fin) Soup
I always prefer Thai-Style Shark Fin Soup as compare to our Chinese-Style ones. Thai-Style ones are more complex in flavour.. Very Umami-rich!
And.. the broth of this dish is definitely a good base for Pen Cai 盆菜。Super love this soup base!
Recipe: https://goo.gl/8BDjoP
The Super Soft and Tender Dong Po Rou (東坡肉)
Dong Po Rou (東坡肉) is a dish where the pork belly was braised in a pot of aromatic wine with sweet black sauce until the fats melt in your mouth and the meat becomes easily fall apart tender. The taste profile of this dish is sweet and salty, with bursting aroma of the yellow wine with every bite.
Cut in slightly thinner slices instead of cube and serve it with Chinese Steam Bun for Kong Ba Pau 扣肉包. Yummy
Recipe: https://goo.gl/FzVfxd
Ngoh Hiang 香脆五香 (Crispy Meat Roll)
Finally, our all time favourite! We can eat it anytime of the year but of course this dish cannot be missing during CNY Dinner.
This is a recipe that my friend’s mum shared it with me after waiting for 3 years for it.
This recipe uses coasely minced pork belly for the maximum juiciness. Get your neighbourhood butcher to mince it or mince it by yourself. If you really have difficulties getting coarsely minced pork belly, just get any minced pork available.
Trust me – try this recipe and most of the ngoh hiang you ate outside is no longer really that tasty.
Recipe: https://goo.gl/Laj0TD
Video Recipe: https://goo.gl/wsNBnq
Last but not least, We would like to wish you A Happy Chinese New Year ! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Wish you have a Wealthier and Healthier Year Ahead!
新年快乐！恭喜发财！财源滚滚！身体健康！万事如意！